Ultralisk
The ultralisk is a zerg heavy ground unit. Overview ]] The ultralisk is a 20 meter long and 5 meter highBill Slavicsek, David Eckelberry, Shawn F. Carnes. Alternity: StarCraft Edition. Wizards of the Coast, March 1, 2000. ISBN 0-7869-1618-4. living battering ram, evolved from the docile brontolith; a creature that the ultralisk now bears little resemblance to.Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. Ultralisks serve as the backbone of the Swarm, possessing an exceptionally thick carapace.Underwood, Peter, Chris Metzen and Bill Roper. StarCraft: Brood War (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. Ultralisks are the most powerful ground strain the Swarm possesses and their DNA is the "final viable code" utilized by larvae.Units: Ultralisk. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2010-08-24 Ultralisks attack using large, bone-like scythes which protrude from their backs. Known as "kaiser blades", these scythes are nearly indestructible. Possessing monomolecular edges,Ultralisk (Zerg strategy guide). Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-10-27. these scythes are able to tear through most substances with ease. Ultralisks have been submitted to countless genetic experiments. By 2500 at least some ultralisks sported four kaiser bladesGiffen, Keith and Simon Furman (w), Federico Dallocchio (p, i), Milen Parvanov (col). "StarCraft: Issue 1" StarCraft 1 (1) (May 27, 2009) DC Comics (Wildstorm). as opposed to the usual two. By the Brood War, prolonged exposure to vespene gas had resulted in an enhancement to the ultralisks' physical capabilities, among which was the evolution of a more hardened exoskeletal shell and the ability to carry out anabolic synthesis, alterations being made to the glands that produce endorphins and adrenal fluids. Ultralisks have been studied by terrans to a significant extent, Avernus Station''Blizzard Entertainment. ''StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Ghost of a Chance (in English). 2010-07-27. and the Castanar space platformBlizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Wings of Liberty, Piercing the Shroud (in English). 2010-07-27. serving as examples. Game Unit StarCraft The ultralisk's attack is hardly impressive for its cost and high tier. Its main advantage is durability, staying power and fear. The ultralisk may lead an attack and draw the first volleys of defensive fire allowing more of the lesser zerg units to survive and close to attack. The ultralisk's relatively slow speed requires some planning to get it to the front rank before the attack. Its large footprint may hinder it and its allies at choke points in addition to making it difficult to reposition once caught in a melee. Ultralisks, while having strong armor, are not very effective against groups of units that deal explosive damage or large amounts of it; this includes siege tanks in siege mode, mass dragoons, reavers, dark templar and occasionally, groups of zealots. Spider mines are also effective against ultralisks. Other counters also include archons with support and the battlecruiser's Yamato Cannon which can take down more than half an ultralisk's hit points. Psionic storms and Irradiate are also capable of damaging ultralisks severely though not directly killing it. Upgrades StarCraft: Brood War File:Ultralisk SC1 Rend1.gif|Ultralisk stat profile File:Ultralisk_SC1_Head1.png|Unit profile StarCraft: Ghost |300px]] Ultralisks appear in StarCraft: Ghost. StarCraft II (increases by +2 with Chitinous Plating) |gun1name=Kaiser Blades |gun1strength=15 (+20 vs armored) |gun1attacks= |gun1ground=X |gun1air= |gun1cool=0.861 |gun1range=1 (melee) |gun1upgrd=+2/+2 vs armored |gun2name= |gun2strength= |gun2attacks= |gun2ground=X |gun2air= |gun2cool= |gun2range= |gun2upgrd= |addons= |evolvesto= |produce= |allows= |research= |ability= |priority=20 |killscore=1600 |makescore=800 |lostscore= |notes= |structure= |hero= |campaign= |npc= |cancel= |nocat= |concatbott= |concattop= }} In StarCraft II, the ultralisk is fast and deals high damage to armored units. It also deals splash damage which makes it effective against groups of low HP units. the ultralisk may also burrow; it takes longer for the ultralisk to burrow compared to smaller zerg units. Abilities Researched Abilities Upgrades Campaign Captive ultralisks are featured in a number of doodads. "Piercing the Shroud" has a building of a captive ultralisk; when destroyed it releases broodlings. Development At release, the ultralisk had a "Ram" ability that performed a head butt on a single building. It was removed in version 1.1 because it generally was less useful than the normal attack.Situation Report: Patch 1.1 and Beyond. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2010-09-18 Special Ultralisk Strains *Blade Guardian *Omegalisk *Pygalisk *Torrasque **Wise Old Torrasque *Zergrinch Juggernaut Notes The ultralisk's name is often shortened to "Ultra" in online culture (most notably among Korean players). Images File:Ultralisk_SC1_Cncpt1.jpg|Concept art File:Ultralisk SC2 Game3.jpg|Early StarCraft II in-game model File:Ultralisk SC2 Game1.jpg|''StarCraft II'' model File:Ultralisk SC2 Game2.jpg|''StarCraft II'' render File:Ultralisk SC2 Art1.png|''StarCraft II'' model Ultralisk SC2 Head2.jpg|''StarCraft II'' profile References Category: StarCraft: Ghost Zerg units Category:Zerg breeds